blue grouse

American  

noun

1. a dull gray grouse, Dendragapus obscurus, of western North America, the male of which has a yellow or orange comb.

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blue grouse British  

noun

1. a grouse, Dendragapus obscurus , of W North America, having a bluish-grey plumage with a black tail

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Etymology

Origin of blue grouse

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60

Example Sentences

Fish & Wildlife Service will help you quickly find out if you found the feather of a dusky grouse, a blue grouse or a ruffed grouse.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 26, 2018

Snowshoe hares also made frequent imprints in the snow along with the occasional squirrel and blue grouse.

From Washington Times • May 1, 2015

My close encounter was with a rooster-sized blue grouse that seemed unconcerned when I skidded to a stop to watch it bob slowly into the brush.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 14, 2014

And at the point I should have been tendering job applications to Hawaiian dive shops, I was hunting blue grouse in the Boulder Mountains.

From Time Magazine Archive

Then a big blue grouse strutted out of a patch of bushes.

From The Young Forester by Grey, Zane